Rekha Sahai: Imagine my loss if I had never met Farooque Shaikh

Farooque Shaikh's friends are simply grateful for having made the acquaintance of a man who lived by example. Close friend Rekha Sahai is barely over the shock of his passing but does not fail to mention how life would be poorer had she not known him at all.
Shaikh Sahab's first Smriti Din comes up on Sunday, December 28.
Rekhaji, a prominent theatre actress and filmmaker, met TOI to relive memories of Farooque Shaikh.Both families live in Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri. Rekhaji had acted in Aazar Ka Khwab, which was the only play Shaikh Sahab directed, and produced and acted in Doordarshan's telefilm Hindola which featured him in the lead.
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"Unka hamare ghar aana jaana tha. We shared the same circle of friends so we'd meet and go out for coffee or dinner. He would come home for play rehearsals. He would say Rekhaji ke ghar rehearsal karte hain."
"You tend to become closer when you do theatre rather than cinema because you travel together so you see various facets of a person. We travelled to Dubai, Kolkata and Delhi for shows. In fact, he would say main film kisi chor uchakke ke saath bhi kar loon, lekin theatre ke liye apne mizaaj ke log hone chahiye.''
A group of friends including Shaikh, Smita Jayakar, Swapna, Abhay, Nitin and Rekhaji got together to start a theatre company named Karvaan Arts. Under this banner they made Aazar Ka Khwab. Rekhaji produced it and Shaikh took on the responsibility of direction. He gave the actors a free hand to play their parts.
More than that, Rekhaji remembers the little thoughtful gestures that made every crew member feel special. She says, "Not only did he know the names of people working backstage, he would remember each person's birthday and bring him a surprise. If somebody was feeling low he would sense it and try to cheer them up. His motto seemed to be how can I help."
His proclivity towards sharing once evoked a scare backstage. "We had a few young actors in the team who were hankering to go to the US for a show. You know, if you go abroad you earn more money and receive a few perks. One of the young boys wanted money for a new motorcycle so he kept saying Rekhaji, US kab jayenge. Once Farooqueji overheard and asked him why he was so keen to go there. When he heard the boy wanted a bike, he said usmein kya hai, le lo na. Le lo. Uske liye US ke show ki kya zuroorat hai. The boy was so alarmed that Shaikh would actually buy him a bike that he never mentioned it again. Unke saamne bolna mushkil tha!''
The friends were all connoisseurs of good food. Rekhaji says, "I am from Bihar. There is a remote village Chaupaan where a particular grihasth family grows a variety of rice that is believed to be most fragrant. It is said that during Dwapar yug, a yagya was held there for 100 years so the soil absorbed the ghee. This is a small patch of land and only one family grows that rice in very small quantities, just a pot or two maybe. Now one of my distant relatives is married into that village. I happened to mention this to Farooqueji one day and he was very keen to sample that rice. He said aap kisi tarah use Chaupaan se Patna pahuncha dijiye, wahan se main arrange kar loonga. Unfortunately, we could never source that rice for him.'' She remembers he would send biryani at Eid, and a large crate of mangoes from his farm every year. Shaikh reposed faith in Ayurveda and alternative healing rather than allopathic medicine. Rekhaji tried persuading him to take up yoga without success. "We are a small group of six or seven neighbours who meet for yoga on the building terrace every morning. I did ask him too, but he said Rekhaji... hmm, nahin.''
His keen understanding of Islam made him open to knowledge of other religions. Rekhaji says, "I remember some years ago, author Devdutt Pattnaik had written a book on Lord Shiva and I had a photocopy of the pages before it went into circulation. Shaikh Sahab saw it and was so interested he requested if he could take it. Now of course that title must be commonly available.''
"There are people who follow religious rituals but may not be spiritual. Farooqueji was a truly spiritual man because he cared for people and made sure to never hurt a soul. Even when he had to take his driver to task for some reason, he would say Nasir Sahab, maine aap se kya kaha tha? Aur aapne kya kiya? Just that.''
Rekhaji says she felt something was not quite right when she saw him in Club 60. "I attended the premiere at PVR Cinema in Juhu but he did not arrive. I met Sarikaji and learnt that he was out of town. In the film his face appeared puffed and swollen. He was breathing hard as he said his dialogues which had never happened before.''
The day December 28 will be forever marked by a black border. "My daughter Gauri was so shocked when she heard Farooqueji was gone. For her he was like an eternal Santa Claus who brought armloads of cake and pastry each time he came. It just would not sink in. She kept saying, 'Mamma, really, will he never come back?' She has lost a lot of weight now, but when she was a chubby child, he would tell her to exercise. One time he brought cow's ghee but she was reluctant because she was gaining weight. He said, Khao -- khao aur daudo."
"After that my daughter underwent a weight loss regime and lost 45 kg. One day she was visiting a friend in Income Tax Colony and she happened to meet Farooqueji in the lift. Naturally she looked so different he did not recognise her as the child he had been bringing goodies for. She was too shy to introduce herself."
Then Rekhaji says, "Unke jaane ka gham sabko hai. Lekin main sochti hoon unse na mili hoti toh kya hota. Zindagi mein kuchh miss ho jata."
LISTEN: Songs of Farooque Shaikh on Gaana.com
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